Alejandro Valverde takes San Sebastian win
Spaniard wins San Sebastian for second time in his career - Adam Yates crashes out of the lead group on final descent


Alejandro Valverde soloed to victory in San Sebastian today having left his break away companions in the closing kilometres.
The Spaniard recorded his second win in the Spanish one-day classic, beating a host of other riders who had come out of the Tour de France with good form. Valverde, who faded in the final week of the Tour, eventually losing his podium spot, beat Belkin's Bauke Mollema, Joaquim Rodriguez and Mikel Nieve by 14 seconds having ridden the final 14 kilometres on his own.
Another group of three, including French hero Tony Gallopin, trailed in another 12 seconds behind them.
Having pulled the lead group of five clear on the final climb, Valverde then attacked on the descent. It was here that Orica's Adam Yates, back racing after a mid-season break from racing, crashed. Initial reports say the British neo-pro is okay and the fact he made the lead group bodes well for his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a Espana at the end of the month.
RESULT
Clasica San Sebastian (Esp) 219km
1. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar 5:31:11
2. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Belkin +0.14 sec
3. Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Katusha +0.14 sec
4. Mikel Nieve (Esp) Sky +0.14 sec
5. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Belisol +0.26 sec
6. Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto-Belisol +0.26 sec
7. Haimar Zubeldia (Esp) Trek Factory Racing +0.26 sec
8. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC +0.40 sec
9. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar +0.40 sec
10. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma - Quickstep +0.43 sec
Other
43. Adam Yates (GBr) OricaGreenEdge +3:57
DNF Simon Yates (GBr) OricaGreenEdge
Editor of Cycling Weekly magazine, Simon has been working at the title since 2001. He fell in love with cycling when channel surfing in 1989 and happening across the greatest ever edition of the Tour de France. He's been a Greg LeMond fan ever since. He started racing in 1995 when moving to university in North Wales gave him more time to train and some amazing roads to train on. He raced domestically for several years, riding everything from Surrey leagues to time trials, track and even a few Premier Calendars. In 2000 he spent one season racing in Belgium with the Kingsnorth International Wheelers.
Since working for Cycling Weekly he has written product reviews, fitness features, pro interviews, race coverage and news. He has covered the Tour de France more times than he can remember along with two Olympic Games and many other international and UK domestic races. He can still be seen at his club's evening races through the summer but he still hasn't completed the CW5000 challenge!
SIMON IS CURRENTLY RIDING
Road bike: Pinarello K8S with Shimano Dura Ace
TT bike: Specialized Venge road bike with FFWD wheels and Easton Attack TT bars
Gravel bike: N/A
Training bike: Rourke custom hand made with Reynolds 853 steel
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